Times Of Their Lives
by whisperofrogue
Summary: Bella has a secret she's somehow been keeping from Jacob. They both go off to college. Then Bella meets Edward. Will her life go through a drastic change?
1. Two Thousand Miles

**A/N: Okay guys, this is my first story in well over five years. I don't know what's going to happen with it yet so we shall see.**

**I know this chapter might not be all that exciting and yes, it might even be considered short, but I wanted to save the next part for the next chapter, and I didn't want to bore you to tears with more traveling than I had to.**

**Thanks for reading; review if you like it! **

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all. **

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"Bella, c'mon, we have to get a move on. We've got more than forty driving hours ahead of us and we don't want to miss orientation!" I heard my boyfriend Jake call over his shoulder. "Good Lord, Bella, what did you pack in here? Your whole house?!" I giggled, bouncing out of the house behind him and into the driveway where he was diligently packing my belongings into my old Chevy pickup.

Charlie was right on my heels. "Are you sure you've got everything, honey?" my dad asked. "You might want to double check…"

"_Daaaad_, I've got everything! I'm all set!" "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you, it being your first year and all?"

"No! I'm okay, I've got Jacob!" I watched as dad deflated, shuffling his work boots in the gravel and looking at me.

"Aww, dad! I didn't mean it like that! I'm just saying it's a long trip and you'd only be there for a few hours. I didn't think it was worth the trip." I gave him a squeezing hug. "I love you."

"Love you too, Bells."

"I still don't understand why we can't fly."

"Because you guys should get to experience the fun of a pre-college road trip. Besides, if you flew, what would you drive once you're AT college? Hmmm?"

"Alright, alright."

Dad smiled. "'Kay then, you two should hit the road, you have a lot of ground to cover before it gets dark.

I ran around to the driver's side of my truck and hopped in while my boyfriend walked over to Charlie and shook his hand. "Bye, sir. See you at Thanksgiving."

Jake double-checked the stability of our necessities in the back of the truck, and I waved excitedly in Charlie's direction as Jacob climbed in the cab beside me. As soon as he was securely seat-belted into my antique truck, I backed out of the drive.

"Bella, why is your dad's hand always so cold?"

As we began our three-day drive to Fairbanks and our new home at the University of Alaska, I sighed. Jake reached over and took my right hand off the steering wheel and laced his fingers through mine. "You okay?" He added his other hand to the mix, rubbing my hand to heat them up. By now he should be used to my constant cool temperature.

I thought to myself, _wow, what's he going to do when it's been another year and my body's finally down to its correct temperature._ Dad, who wasn't really my dad, had changed me when I was seventeen years old. And technically I still am - it's been a year since my heart stopped - and I'll be seventeen forever. Of course, only Charlie and I knew about that, and I'd rather keep it that way. How he hasn't figured out already is beyond me.

"Yeah… I'm just thinking."

"About?" Jake shifted in his seat so he was facing me, smiling.

I glanced at him, deciding whether or not I wanted to confide in him with this. _It does involve him… no. I can't yet._

"About college. What if we get there and something happens to us? I've never known of anyone who stays with the same person when they get to college."

"Bella don't worry about that, we're going to the same college, it's okay." I glared at him for a brief moment before focusing my scattered attention back on the familiar road out of Forks.

"Jake, you don't know that."

Jake shot me a warning glare and I realized I needed to drop the subject. "Nevermind."

Hours passed without incident. By now it was nine P.M. We'd been traveling for eleven hours with minimal stops, and I was ready for a hot shower and a chance to hunt while he slept. Jake nodded at my request of shut-eye,_ for him, not me… but I won't tell him that_, and soon he was pointing me in the direction of a Best Western along the main road.

Opening the door to our room, I found instead of two queen beds, one large king bed taking up half of the room. I looked at Jake. "They didn't have anything with two?" My boyfriend looked at me. "I just asked for a room – I didn't specify. Does it really matter that much?"

Even though I'd been dating Jake for almost a year, I wasn't comfortable with the idea of sleeping in the same bed with an adolescent boy. "I guess it doesn't."

Twenty minutes later I was clean, dry, and comfortable in my sweatpants. I opened up my computer to check email. The bathroom door creaked open and I looked up to see Jake in his boxers. "You don't mind if I sleep like this, right? I never wear a shirt at home."

"No, it's fine." I closed my laptop and set it on the table by the door. Eyeing the thermostat, I realized I couldn't sleep at its current setting, so I turned it up to 78 degrees and crawled under the warm covers. Jake laughed. "Bella, what are you going to do when we start sleeping in dorms? Unpredictable heating…" I pulled the blankets over my head. "Hell if I know…" I mumbled. Jake laughed.

"Goodnight Bell," I heard Jacob whisper in my ear, and I felt his warm lips brush against my hair. I heard his breathing slow down. _Silly, oblivious boy. I wish I could tell him that I can't sleep._

When I knew he was out cold, I threw on my jeans and tennis shoes and ran outside. I followed the edge of the woods for a while and then entered, my shoes squishing on the damp mossy earth. I ran for a while and eventually took down a moose, one of my favorites. _That should do it for a while…_

I returned and slipped under the blankets. The clock read 4:30 AM. _Damn. I didn't waste enough time. _Jacob slipped his arms around me and I smiled. _It'd be nice to fall asleep like this, if I could sleep…_

Morning came, and when the clock registered 7:45 I extracted myself from his long arms and glided to the shower.

By the time I got out, Jake was awake and sitting patiently on the end of the bed, waiting for his turn in the shower. I leaned down and kissed him before packing yesterday's clothes back into my suitcase. By the time the bathroom door clicked shut, Jake was already humming.

Soon after, at about nine, we were on the road again, with Jake so graciously volunteering to drive, stopping at a gas station a few miles up to get something that resembled breakfast. I poked at my egg sandwich, and looked up to meet his disapproving eyes. "Bell, you never eat. Go on, it won't hurt you; you need breakfast. It'll be a long day."

I had to tell him. I had to tell him I'm a vampire and food makes me freaking sick. "Jake…" "Look, Bella, if you're still worried about us falling apart this year, forget it, we're going to be fine. I love you." I clamped my mouth shut. He was still tense about yesterday, and I couldn't see that broaching that subject would calm things in the slightest. "I'm not hungry." He stared at me before returning his angry eyes to the road. "Bella. You have to eat. So eat. I won't take no for an answer, please."

I bit into my sandwich to appease him. It tasted like lead. I forced down half of the sandwich before putting it back in the wrapper. "I can't eat anymore right now." Jake smiled. "At least you ate something."

"Yeah…" _and in half an hour I'll be feeling it, just you wait._

Sure enough, half an hour later… "Jake, please pull over."

"Why Bella? We've still got a long way to go."

"Jake, pull over."

"Can't you wait till the next gas station?"

"DAMN IT JAKE, PULL OVER!"

Jake swerved onto the shoulder and I launched myself from the partially stopped vehicle and into the woods. I ran probably a mile in ten seconds flat, ending up in a small clearing. _Thank God for overcast days_ I thought as I crouched down, emptying the whole of this morning's attempted sandwich onto the grass. I saw a raccoon a few yards away and after I halfway satisfied my insatiable hunger, I headed back to the truck. Jake was leaning against the passenger door, arms crossed, watching me approach. "You okay babe?"

"Told you I wasn't hungry."

"Fine. If you're better now, we better get a move on." I stared at him incredulously.

"Give me a minute, if you please." I snapped. I bend over at the waist, hands on my knees, and waited for the possibility of a bit more of my sandwich making itself known. After another moment, I decided my stomach had settled, and we got back on the road.

We drove until seven o'clock, stopping only for gas and _our_ bladder relief, or so he thought. The conversation consisted mainly of my occasional "I wonder how far we've gone" and his assorted replies or various emotions.

"Bella?"

"Yes Jacob?"

"Hungry?"

"No."

"Well I am. We're stopping."

"Okay." I mumbled, sitting deeper in the seat and leaning my head against the headrest. "I'll stay out here." We were pulling into the parking lot of a roadside diner. "Bella, you need to eat."

"Jake, honey, must we start this again? I'm not feeling up to it." He shrugged and headed inside. I was relieved when he came out that he wasn't carrying anything he expected me to eat.

He climbed back in the car, opened his mouth to ask me something, and then shut it. "No, I don't want anything." He smiled. "Sorry. I just don't want you to go hungry."

My clenched jaw relaxed and I smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Do you want to keep going?" I looked at the time. 7:30PM registered on the clock face. "It wouldn't hurt. We've still got a long ways to go tomorrow."

The following afternoon, after yet another uneventful night and a $30 hotel stay, we had tacked an additional ten hours onto our travel time, and were now a sun's day's drive from our destination. I requested we drive another four hours, then stop at a hotel and relax for the evening. That would leave us with six or seven hours the following day, and we could get to the school right when orientation starts – at dinnertime.

Hours later Jake and I were in our hotel room, watching a movie. He sat up against the bed's headboard and I sat in between his legs, his arms around my waist. _Mmm, warmth._ It'd been a year since my transformation, and I still felt chilled in my own skin. In comparison, Jake was warm. I snuggled deeper in to his chest, barely paying attention to the TV. Jake fell asleep in this position, and I had the feeling he wouldn't be waking up until sunlight was prodding his eyes open. Having absorbed enough body heat to comfort me for a while, I went for a walk.

The following evening we were pulling onto the campus, trying failingly to find the main building. They were all huge and brick – we had no idea where to start.

We finally found a big, crowded parking lot, full of crammed SUVs and U-Hauls. Getting out, we surveyed the area. The crowd was gathering in one corner of the lot. Walking up to the table under the "WELCOME!" banner, we already felt at home.

A friendly smile greeted us. "Hi! Names please?"


	2. Games and Roommates

**Thanks FitzwilliamDarcy and R0ckl0bster for catching my 3 A.M. mistake. Guess this is what I get for not having a beta. Thank you again guys!!!**

**Sixteen thousand edits later I think I've fixed all problems. Maybe. Let me know!!! **

**A/N: Hey guys. I know this is a short chapter and it's rather boring but if I continued into the next part of our story, it'd take too long. I wanted to put something up for you guys to read and review while I worked.**

**Sorry I'm taking so long putting the chapters up – been busy working a big horse show and with school work. It's almost spring break though so I'll definitely have more to put up soon!**

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"Hi. Isabella Swan." I looked at Jake, and he piped in "oh, um, Jacob Black."

The friendly woman smiled. "Miss Swan, Mr. Black, here are your welcome packets. Make sure you hold onto them, you'll need them this week. I assume you brought your belongings with you?" I nodded. "Excellent. See that sign over there? Drive over there and you'll be directed up to unload your things."

We took our packets, promising not to lose them, and headed back to the truck. People were whispering and sneaking glances in our direction, but that wasn't hard to understand – my boyfriend towered at over six foot five, not to mention the fact that he was easy on the eyes, at least in my opinion.

Jake got in, turning the key. My old truck coughed and sputtered to life. We fell in line between a sleek black Mercedes and a shiny new Volvo and waited our turn. _Damn, those are nice. I wonder who drives them._

Jacob huffed when I commented on the beauty of the vehicles in front of and behind us. "My Rabbit's better."

"Babe, it doesn't run."

"But it will!"

I shook my head, smiling, and looked out the window. I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, Jake was nudging me. I looked up and realized we were parked right in front of Skarland Hall. Professors stood in t-shirts and cutoffs, helping students move boxes and bags from the car to the sidewalk and from the sidewalk up to their rooms.

Moments later all of my things were unloaded. I kissed Jake and followed the last of my boxes, carried by Mr. Randall, one of the photography professors, up to the seventh floor.

I opened the door and walked into an empty room. My roommate – Rosalie, 18, business major – wasn't due in until the following morning.

The next hour and a half was designated for free time, and I took advantage of this and spent my time unpacking and rearranging until everything on my half of the room was precisely where I wanted it.

A knock at my door jolted me out of my room-rearranging perfectionism. I sprang to my feet and crossed the room to the door in one giant leap. I flung open the door and threw my arms around my gorgeous boyfriend, who stood smiling, leaning on the wall beside my door.

He smiled into my lips as he pulled me closer. "Hey, babe. I thought you signed up for a roommate…?" He peered around me into my room.

"Not till tomorrow sometime. She couldn't catch an earlier flight."

"Ah. Okay. Well, you wanna head down to the Rec. center? Icebreakers should be starting soon…"

I smiled. "Absolutely!" I locked my door, pushed the key deep into my pocket, and reached for his hand. Lacing my fingers in his, I let him lead the way to the stairs, seeing as the stragglers of move-in chaos were still in control of the elevator.

Halfway down the seven flights of stairs, I stopped, placed my hands on Jake's chest, and pushed him against the wall. His look of confusion turned to excitement the moment my cool lips touched his perfect warm ones. His strong arms encircled my waist, pulling me closer.

Seemingly all too soon I slowly pulled away, beaming up at him. "Now we can go." We continued our trek to the student center, hand in hand, his thumb caressing gentle circles onto my skin.

Jake held the door for me and we entered the recreation building first, my eyes exploring the high ceilings and bright colors, as well as the banner, at least ten feet wide, hung from the ceiling that read "Welcome, Freshmen!" in big block letters.

A petite blonde woman with a chipper smile strode over to us, carrying a red plastic bucket. "Hey guys, I'm Rhonda, I'm the coordinator for this evening's events. Go ahead and reach in this bucket, pull out a strip of colored ribbon, and go stand with that group!" She smiled and extended the bucket. I reached in with my free hand and pulled out a royal blue ribbon. I looked at Jake and he reached in. His ribbon was hot pink. "Good! Now go find your groups! Look for the coordinating poster board along the walls."

Jake smiled apathetically and, after giving my hand a squeeze, headed off to join his hot pink group-members. I looked at my ribbon, wishing it would turn a brighter, pinker hue, but then, resigning myself to my fate, I slumped my shoulders and ambled in the direction of my blue cohorts. They all turned to look at me as I approached. Even though we weren't in Arizona or anywhere with the big warm sun constantly overhead, I couldn't help but notice the bronze tone kissing everyone else's skin. I must look like a zombie, I mused, stopping a few feet from them.

One by one, their curious gazes were replaced by warm smiles, and I instantly felt myself relax. "Hey guys, I'm Bella." A few of the girls offered me their names: a redhead by the name of Grace, a girl with wavy brown hair, halfway down her back, named Roxanne, and an overly-excited looking girl with blonde hair who said "Hi! I'm Jessica! Aren't you excited?! College!"

Rhonda clapped her hands. "We're going to start now! Wheelbarrow races first, to get you guys moving!" A black-haired pixie named Alice, bounded over and latched her arm with mine. "Partners?"

The boys weren't quite as open as the girls but two of them, a shaggy blonde and one with black hair, introduced themselves as Jasper and Eric.

Two hours later, after enduring what felt like years of these mindless games in which we had to sit on each other and remember pointless random facts about each other, we were free to go.

"Keep an eye on your schedules! Movie night in the amphitheatre! Starts in half an hour, guys! You know you want to come!" Rhonda called as we were shuffling through the doors out into the cool night air. I looked at my watch. Nine thirty. I looked up at Jacob, but he was one step ahead of me, seemingly having already read my mind. "Fine by me!"

Hand in hand we walked the short way across campus to the amphitheatre, a semi-circle of stone benches nestled in the side of a hill. We picked a spot on the grass on the hill above the stone benches and settled into the damp grass. Jacob sat first, and I sat between his knees. He lifted his hand and twirled a few strands of my dark hair between his fingers. "So did you have fun?" I smiled, leaning back into him. "Actually, yeah! I actually made some new friends! One girl, Alice, lives next door to me! What about you?" I reached over and picked up his hand, curling my fingers around his long ones.

"It was fun, I guess. A few of the girls were being overly friendly, and the guys were pretty cool. There was one though, man, all the girls were fawning over him. You'd have thought he was from Baywatch or something, the way they drooled." I laughed. "Oh reeeeally?"

I turned to look at him and he kissed my temple. "Yeah. I think he was from somewhere with lots of sun, Phoenix, maybe? He was really tan."

"What's his name?"

"Uhmm, Edward? Yeah, Edward. Edward Cullen."

_Edward Cullen. That's a beautiful name._ I mused, before settling my back against Jake's chest. "Oh. Haven't met him yet, then."

After Nemo was finally reunited with his father, the credits rolled and everyone stretched and extracted themselves from the damp grass. I laced my fingers with Jake's and he walked me back to my dorm hall. He had a bit of a hike back to his hall, Nerland, so we parted ways with a quick hug and kiss. I heard an "awww!" behind me and spun around, only to find Alice was standing a few feet away, a big smile pasted to her gorgeous face.

We started walking into the building. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. That's your boyfriend? Jake, is it?"

I nodded. "How long have you guys been dating?"

"A year."

Alice whistled. "That's a long time. I've only been dating my boyfriend Jasper for three months, and that feels like forever."

We were waiting for the elevator by now, and when it opened we entered and Alice pressed the '7' button.

"So do you have a roommate?"

"Yeah… she doesn't get in until tomorrow though."

"What's her name?"

"Uhh, Rosalie Hale."

Alice's eyes widened. "Oh."

"What?"

"She's my cousin…"

"Oh! Small world! That's cool!"

"Yeah… good luck with that."

"Why?"

Alice smiled sympathetically. "She can be… difficult to live with sometimes."

_Great…_

We passed Alice's door first, seven-twelve, and parted ways.

My room was too cool for my liking, _damn humans and their air conditioning. _The night was unusually heated, so I opened the windows, letting the warm summer air tickle my face.

But a few short hours later…

"What the hell is this mess? And why are the windows open?!" I heard a voice in the doorway complain.

I looked up from my book at the clock. "7:00AM," and looked to the door, where a striking blond was standing, hand on hip, a designer purse dangling from her wrist and her other hand on the handle of an enormous suitcase.

"Sorry, I haven't finished unpacking yet." _Great, Rosalie's first impression of me is that I'm a slob…_

Her eyes were still hard. "Oh." She said briskly, before hoisting her suitcase onto her bed and glaring at me. I stared, incredulously, as Rosalie, obviously irritated, pulled things out of her suitcase and slammed the on the bed.

I watched her madness for a few minutes then padded next door.

"She hates me."

"Rosalie just get in?"

"Yeah."

"C'mon in."

At eight fifteen I had to use my key to get into room seven-thirteen, my dear roommate had locked the door on me. This was going to be a long semester.


	3. First Encounter

"Bella, move your stuff to your side of the room

**A/N: I knowww this chapter is boring – It's not as long as I'd have liked to be but I've been insanely busy this week with my big photo project. I'll get back on track, I promise! Anyway, I figured I'd give you at least something to read so I'm not quite as pathetic at updating as I seem to be. As always, If you catch something I didn't phrase right or something, please let me know! Also, it should be noted that the more reviews I get, the faster I write, seriously.**

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"Bella, move your stuff to your side of the room."

"Sorry, Rosalie," I retorted, my voice dripping with sweet sarcasm. "I wasn't aware that we had designated sides."

Rosalie shot a sideways glare my way. "Please, _roooomie?_" The mocking tone in her voice did not slip by me unnoticed. Maybe she'd lighten up a bit as the semester went on. After all, it had only been three days. Classes were to start tomorrow, Wednesday, and maybe the addition of homework would keep her off my case.

I peeked at the clock, 9:30PM. Rosalie usually fell asleep around ten, so a bit longer of treading on eggshells and then I'd be free to read in peace.

My phone vibrated on my desk. I slid off my bed, adjusting the blue quilt that had tried to come with me, and padded across the room to my phone. Text message from Jake.

_Hey babe. Meet me in the lounge in 5?_

I smiled, quickly punching in a response.

_See you then._

The lounge was on the first floor of my hall, which meant I had to let him in. I located my flip-flops and after grabbing my keys, slipped out the door. I greeted Jake with a kiss at the door, and let him in. He had brought _The Princess Bride_ with him and we settled on the couch in the lounge, the movie playing on the big screen TV.

Wesley had just been pushed down the unpleasantly steep hill when the squeak of the door resonated in the lounge. I turned in my seat to look at the door to the rear of the room and saw the most beautiful boy entering. His hair, a bronze mess, haphazardly danced in his emerald green eyes, and those pools sparkled iridescent against his sun-kissed skin.

He walked by me, and I swear I nearly lost it. If I hadn't lost my bloodlust for humans, I probably would have jumped him just based on his scent alone – a slight musk mixed with the smell of grass after a summer rain. But if that wasn't enough, he was gorgeous.

He and I locked eyes for a brief moment, and then he was gone, out of the room and into the depths of the enormous dorm hall.

"That's him." Jake's voice broke pierced through my thoughts.

"Who?"

"Edward Cullen."

**Edward's POV**

God, those girls are ridiculous! At least I've finally gotten rid of them for the night. Damn, where is my key… there it is.

I opened the lounge doors. I noticed _The Princess Bride_ playing quietly from the TV in the corner, and that guy from my orientation games group was sitting, arm around a girl, watching. She turned as I entered.

_Good God, she's gorgeous_. I couldn't take my eyes off her flawless porcelain skin. Her dark brown eyes stood out dramatically, and I couldn't help but be drawn to them. As quick as it had begun, I ended the eye contact. I couldn't risk the native getting restless.

I walked out of the lounge and down the hallway, stopping out of sight of the couple. I leaned back against the wall, hands over my eyes. _Is she seriously dating him? From what I can tell he's not really that nice of a guy…_

**Bella's POV**

Out of the corner of my eye I watched the door long after he had passed through it. He, that vision of perfection, the movie star among the extras. He was gorgeous. I leaned my head on Jake's shoulder. Ah well. Jake's a great boyfriend.

After another night spent reading and listen to my Barbie of a roommate's bear-like snoring, I looked at the clock, which finally read a time at which I could logically "wake up." I showered, dressed, then picked up my notebook and English book and headed to Composition & Literature, in the humanities building across campus.

In my desperation to vacate the dorm room before Rosalie woke up, I hadn't computed that Lit. started at nine thirty, not nine, so now I was forty minutes early.

The morning was pleasantly warm, though cloudy, so I settled against a tree near the humanities building, leaning my head back against the trunk, and closed my eyes, letting my mind wander. I heard leaves rustling close by and opened my eyes, expecting Jake.

Edward Cullen was standing at my feet, staring down at me.

"Hey." He smiled a crooked smile that would have made me week at the knees, had I not been sitting on the ground. I looked up at him quizzically. "Hi?" I questioned, shifting my position until I was cross-legged at the base of the tree.

"I'm Edward. Edward Cullen. And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Bella Swan. Nice to meet you."

He glanced down at the books by my side, then back up at my eyes. "Professor Newbern at nine thirty?"

"Yes?"

"I daresay you're a bit early."

I could almost feel the blood pulsing through my snowy cheeks. Almost. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Mind if I sit?"

_No I don't mind! You're only the most gorgeous boy on this side of the world… _"Not at all!" My response came out a bit more enthusiastic than I had planned on, but it seemed to have gone over Edward's beautiful head.

He reached out with a long, muscled arm and set his books down, then sat down beside me. He wasn't flush against me but the urge to stretch my arm out a bit and brush his was almost unbearable. His scent wafted into my nose and I was left spellbound.

He turned his head in my direction, a lock of bronze hair falling into his emerald eyes. I felt drawn to him – I couldn't unlock my eyes from his gaze. After a moment he pulled the left side of his face into a smile and turned back to watch students running across the dewy grass towards their class. The church bells somewhere in town chimed.

Thirty more minutes.

His emerald orbs twinkled as he grinned once again. "So, Bella, tell me something about yourself."

"Like what?" I stared at him, unsure of why he was asking me such an open-ended question.

"Doesn't matter. Something insignificant. Something no one else knows."

"Well… I like to make paper airplanes and fly them at people."

Edward laughed whole-heartedly. I was already ripping a page from my blank notebook. He watched as I molded the paper into a reasonably complex airplane, aimed, and let the airplane take flight. The light breeze sent it swooping directly into the thick hair of one of the basketball players. He turned and looked around but my mischievous hobby had required me to perfect the art of an innocent expression, and he overlooked me in his visual quest for the perpetrator.

The tall, lanky basketball player finally gave up and turned back to his friends. I glanced at Edward, who was trying to control his laughter, which was arguably the most beautiful sound ever to touch my ears. He managed to wheeze out "holy… hell…. That was…. Amazing…"

I shook my head in mock disgust, closing my eyes. _Why does he have to be so perfect?_

**Edward's POV**

_Christ. She's absurdly beautiful. And her smile? I could melt. Christ, did I really just think that?_

Her beautiful brown eyes remained closed, a faint smile glowing on her porcelain face. _Her skin… it's so pale._

I had to ask.

"Bella?"

Her eyes fluttering open, she looked at me. "Mmhmm?"

_I can't ask her that. I barely know her._ "Uhm, is your boyfriend going to be mad that I'm sitting with you?"

**Bella's POV**

_I hadn't thought of that. God I hope not._ Biting my lip, I looked up at his emerald eyes and replied with "I hope hot…"

Edward looked at me like my hair had just turned into snakes. "Oh! I mean 'not'! Not hot… I mean, you are hot… shit." I could feel my face turning a few hundred shades or red and purple and I giggled nervously.

The breeze caught his hair and sent his unbearably perfect scent into my nostrils. I resisted the urge to move closer to him.

I looked at my watch. 9:37AM. _SHIT!!_

I jumped up, grabbing my books.

"I'm late! It was nice meeting you!"


	4. Author's Note

Author's Note:

Sorry about the extreme delay everyone, I know you guys must have all but forgotten about this story. But I'm in the process of writing the fourth chapter, and hope to nail down a schedule of writing after that one is posted! Have no fear, I haven't forgotten. A combination of sickness, ridiculous projects, horse shows, and drama have kept me away.


	5. Author's Note Again

Okay guys, I know I've been slacking, but my life's been pretty crazy. I'm working on the next chapter, have no fear! =] It should be up within two weeks. I know that's a while but it should only get faster from here! Thanks for your patience.


	6. Possibilities

**I am so sorry for the humungoginormous delay. I was suuuper busy with college and summer jobs and my inspiration was decidedly fleeting. However, I'll work to finish this during the winter. I meant to keep writing this chapter and give it to you longer but at least I can give you something now. My apologies!**

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I sat through Comp. & Lit, my mind in a haze. If he didn't think I was a disaster waiting to happen after my word fumbles, he surely believed it now – in my haste to avoid the awkward explanation I'd no doubt have to give, I forgot he was in my class.

So here I found myself sitting here, perfection sitting less than ten feet behind and to the left of me, and with a quiz looming on the horizon, I was kicking myself for being so distracted.

I felt someone's uninterrupted gaze heating the skin on my frigid neck. I pressed my fingers against the area in question and was astounded to find I actually had a faint warmness beginning to form.

I turned my attention back to my professor, who repeatedly locked eyes with me, for reasons I had no way of finding out. I shrugged off the strange feeling as mild paranoia and focused my eyes on the wall clock above Mr. Newbern's thinning hair. The minutes ticked by as if slowed by the hand of God himself, and I was less than impressed – the sooner this class was over, the better.

The professor kept a watchful eye on the time, and by the time the body language of the class had reached an alarmingly restless state, he was waving us out of the room with a withered hand. An avalanche of books, papers, and writing utensils cascaded off my desk in my desperate, hurried attempt to escape unnoticed. I felt a warm-blooded touch against my left arm, and Edward was on the ground, picking up my books.

If I could blush, I would have been burgundy.

My school supplies in a neat pile on my desk, Edward turned to me. "In a hurry?" His crooked smile melted me at my knees, and I had to grip the desk for balance.

"Oh! No, I was just… feeling a bit faint, my blood sugar must be low, I haven't eaten in a while." _Boy, ain't that the truth… hopefully that little white lie won't bite me later._

Edward raised a perfect eyebrow in my direction then shrugged. "Oh, well if you want we can go grab lunch in the dining hall."

"Oh, well, I have a boyfriend, and actually I'm supposed to meet him in the student center, but I'll see you later." I headed off without another word. The humidity, uncharacteristically high for August, heated and dampened my newborn skin. I hated being in between temperatures – it was as if, until completely settled in my new skin, I could feel both cool and uncomfortably warm at the same time.

I strode across the quad to the dorm hall, looking forward to a cool shower and a break before my next class.

Showered and dry twenty minutes later, I now was sprawled on my back on my bed, glad to be temporarily rid of the roommate. A knock at my door dragged me out of my mind's wandering, and I opened the door to find Alice bouncing on her heels. "Soooo? You met my brother?" I put two and two together. "Edward?" "Yesss! I saw you two talking as I was walking to my nine-thirty class this morning!" I smiled.

"He's really nice." I couldn't think of anything else to say that wouldn't give away my ill-timed little crush on him.

Alice laughed and folded her arms, that evil little pixie. "Is that all?"

"Alice, I can't. Even if I did admit I liked him, I'm dating Jake."

"Aha, so you do like him."

"I didn't say that!" I huffed indignantly.

"You said 'if I did admit'. That means you have something to admit! If you didn't like him you wouldn't have anything to admit. Gotcha!"

I sighed in defeat and leaned against the counter by the sink. "It doesn't matter anyway. I can't do anything about it so why does it matter?"

The scheming little pixie just grinned ear-to-ear at me. "Life is short, do something dramatic!" _Boy, she's right about…_

"Hey ladies! Alice, may I steal away my girlfriend for a moment?" My head snapped up. _Shit._ "Hey baby!" I smiled as genuine as I could manage but shot Alice a look out of the corner of my eye. She nodded as though she could read my mind and mouthed "we'll talk later!" before darting down the hall.

Jake took me in his arms and I tolerated it, though all I wanted were Edward's arms around me holding me close. _What am I thinking?! I love Jake, don't I? _ Jake tugged tighter and I found myself folded against his chest. He was too warm; it was uncomfortable. I looked up at him and pressed my lips to his. "Hey, I can't hang out for too long, I've got homework already." Jake looked crestfallen but nodded. "That's okay, babe, I've got some work I could get done too." He walked away quickly, leaving me confused. "I'll see you later then!" I called out as he pulled the door shut with him.

The door swung open and Alice bounced in. "Sooooo? You like my brother?" She giggled. I groaned, flopping back onto my bed and pulling my pillow over my eyes. "No!" The voice that answered her wasn't mine. It sounded forced, such a fact not missed by Alice. "Uh huh."

"Alice. I can't. I just can't. I love Jake." Silence filled the air and I removed the pillow. Alice was sitting quietly, typing up a response to a text message that had her smiling.

"If you ever reconsider, know he's been asking about you."


End file.
